What Can We Do For Jesus in 2013?
Revelation 5
Dec 30, 2012 AM
Pastor Craig
Ledbetter
I.
Introduction (Job 14:1) “Man that is born of a
woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
A.
Every since we were born…
B.
We have given God a
lot of trouble
C.
We basically give
God our worst.
D.
And yet, He has only
given us all things so richly to enjoy (1Tim 6:17)!
1.
“Charge them that are rich in
this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in
the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy”
2.
Himself, Heaven, the
Holy Spirit, the precious and perfect word of God, our families, a future,
salvation… shall I go on?
3.
James 1:17 “Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father
of lights”
E.
Well, Shouldn’t we be busy giving
something good back?
F.
Yes, the Lord Jesus,
the King of kings, has always gladly accepted our weariness, our sins and our
sorrows – our frustrations and our disasters
G.
But, isn’t this
Person named the Lord Jesus Christ, isn’t He worthy of something more than just
all our problems, our cares, our burdens, our failures, and our sins?
H.
That is what
Revelation 5 is all about – to remind us that He is Worthy of so much more!
II.
Background- Worthy is the
Lamb (Revelation 5:1-12)
A.
What A Saint Sees Heaven
(Rev 4:1,2; 5:1)
1.
The apostle John is in heaven,
writing down everything he sees
2.
He is not dead, but
just visiting!
B.
A Sovereign Rules There
(Rev 5:1)
1.
The first thing He sees is a
being, so awesome, so bright and powerful
a.
It is almighty God - Jehovah
b.
On His throne
c.
In complete control
2.
But John also sees a book, in the
hand of God – full of judgments for this world
C.
A Search is Made (Rev
5:1,2)
1.
For Someone WORTHY
a.
Someone good enough, righteous
enough, strong enough
b.
To open that Book
c.
And to Judge the
world
d.
To defeat the god of
this world Satan!
2.
Searched everyone – everyone’s
background, and found something wrong, some flaw, some character defect, some
sin, or some failure
3.
Searched everywhere!
No one in heaven, or on earth, or in hell was good enough
4.
No angel, no
Cherubim, no saint, and no sinner! No scholar or student, no prince or king. No
politician or punter. No mother or child. No worker or welfare recipient!
5.
All of creation fell
short of being worthy!
D.
The Sadness
at Finding No One Worthy (Rev 5:3,4)
1.
Apostle John had been around a
long time – seen so much, so nothing much moved him normally
2.
But this sight
saddened him – caused him to weep
3.
God had the record
book in His hand of all the sins of the world, and all the judgments that had to
be carried out
4.
But no one was found
that could carry out justice
a.
That there was no Judge qualified
to judge this world
b.
That All the
injustices, the abortions, the murders, the crimes and rapes, would not be
judged – would never be made right
5.
No one could even take a look at
what should happen
E.
The Strength of the Lion
(Rev 5:5)
1.
An elder in heaven was an Old
Testament believer – maybe Abraham, Isaac, or Noah
2.
This man in heaven
came over to John, and put his arm on him and encouraged him
3.
Behold! Someone
worthy is near!
4.
It was a LION!
a.
Why of course! Someone mighty,
and powerful could defeat Satan
b.
A lion is the best
kind of a hero
c.
Has the best
strength
d.
The promised Lion of
the tribe of Judah – the best tribe in
e.
Greater than David!
This lion was the ROOT of David – existed BEFORE David!
5.
HE has prevailed!
a.
Passed all the tests – 100%
b.
Perfectly qualified
c.
HE will take that
Book and go and bring judgment and justice to this world
F.
The Surprise (Rev 5:6)
1.
John was surprised to see a Lamb!
Surprised that Jesus PREVAILES as a Lamb
a.
Not as the lion – not yet!
b.
But as a Lamb – a
meek, quiet, small, innocent, harmless lamb
2.
This is Jesus, the Son of God
3.
But he has shown
Himself to be the Lamb of God – just as John the Baptist was able to see Him in
John 1:29
4.
A special kind of
lamb – not normal – but heavenly
a.
A lamb that had been slain –
still carrying His scars
b.
Resurrected now,
alive for evermore
c.
Seven horns – all
powerful
d.
Seven eyes –
omniscient – all knowing
5.
Able to walk right up to GOD, and
take the Book out of His hand – pretty worthy!
6.
Absolutely everyone
in heaven fell flat and worshipped the LAMB – the trinity!
7.
This lamb was just
as worthy of worship as Jehovah God (Rev 4:11; 5:9, 12)
G.
A Song is Sung in Heaven
(Rev 5:9)
1.
Great songs are sung in heaven –
you ought to learn them!
2.
The best ones are
about Jesus!
3.
About how worthy He
is!
H.
The Saviour is Revealed in
Heaven (Rev 5:9)
1.
Jesus saved this entire planet,
not with the strength of a Lion, but as a Lamb!
a.
Offered Himself in our place in
the death of the cross
b.
Redeemed us back to
God – paid off our deepest sin debt
c.
The price was His
blood – just as the blood of millions of lambs throughout history since Genesis
3
2.
He doesn’t save just a few
people, or a few nations, but has redeemed souls from:
a.
Out of every Kindred – tribes,
families
b.
Out of every Tongue
– from all languages
c.
Our of every people
group – race and nationality
d.
And out of every
nation – like
I.
The Lamb’s Subjects in Heaven
(Rev 5:10)
1.
Not servants anymore
2.
The Lamb has MADE us
kings, and priests unto God!
3.
And He has invited
us to reign with Him on the earth forever!
4.
I am glad I am
serving the Lord NOW!
J.
There are So Many in Heaven
(Rev 5:11)
1.
10,000 x 10,000 = 100,000,000
2.
Plus thousands and
thousands
3.
That’s a lot of
angels and believers there in heaven!
4.
Can you imagine what
their voice all in unison sounded like????
K.
He is So Worthy of Our Best
NOW (Rev 5:12)
1.
THOU art worthy
2.
Not WILL be worthy
3.
But ARE, right now,
and forevermore worthy!
4.
Jesus IS worthy –
there will never be a time He is not worthy of our very, very best!
III.
Message – What Jesus is
Worthy Of This Coming Year…
A.
Our Power
(Psalm 62:11)
1.
Power belongs to God
– not to us mortal men (Mt 28:18)
a.
All power comes from
God, and should be subject to Him (1Peter 3:22)
b.
All the power in
government, should be subject to Jesus Christ
c.
Especially in the
lives of Christians (Eph 1:19-23)
d.
All the power in a
home, should be UNDER the power of Jesus Christ
2.
Too many people
live for POWER over other people. And YOU may hold power over other people
a.
By being Unforgiving
b.
By being full of
Wrath and anger
c.
Seeking Revenge
3.
Hey! Give THAT power
back to Jesus! Only HE can be trusted with it – Only HE is worthy of it!
4.
I bet most of you
WON’T give that up! But you should!
5.
Take a good look at
yourself.
a.
Do your words and
your actions show that YOU have great power?
b.
Or do they show that
you live UNDER Someone who you yield all power to?
6.
Give Jesus
Lordship over your life this year – that means surrender YOUR authority,
and YOUR power to Him, and LET Him have control of your life, and control of
your situations
7.
Trust him with your
life! Trust Him with all control!
a.
Quit trying to
control and have power over all your problems and over all the people in your
life! Trust God with all that!
b.
If you are born
again, it is because you trust Him with your soul
c.
It is just funny
that we won’t trust Him with our homes, our finances, and our feelings!
B.
Our Riches
(2Cor 8:9)
1.
Not empty pockets,
but your best
2.
Why do people
believe the God of heaven who made us, deserves little or none of our lives?
3.
Where did we get the
idea that He is unworthy of our best?
4.
Why would anyone
think Jesus is worthy of our leftovers?
5.
Give God your
alabaster boxes, not your rubbish!
C.
Our
Wisdom
1.
Use your mind for
GOOD!
a.
Your best and
freshest thoughts are wasted in front of TVs and laptops
b.
Young men and women
waste billions of priceless brain cells by drinking and drugging
c.
Don’t end up just
giving God your STUPIDITY and FAILURES
2.
Give God your best
thoughts, Smartest inventions
3.
God gave you your
mind, so give it back to Him as a gift (Isa 28:26)
4.
Witty inventions
should be developed and used for the glory of God, not of ourselves (Prov 8:12)
a.
To discover things
b.
To teach truth and
not fairy tales
c.
To save nations, not
ruin them
5.
Give God credit for
your discoveries
a.
Samuel Morse, when
watching the telegraph operate over wires back in the early 1800’s did not say
“WOW! Look what mankind has done!” he said, “What hath God wrought!” “Look what
GOD has done!”
b.
Isaac Newton “This
most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from
the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
c.
Robert Boyle,
conducted scientific research into air pressure, mechanics, and chemistry. He
was also a serious student of the Bible. “The last service that, I hope…is to
[cause] men to pay their admiration, their praises, and their thanks, directly
to God himself; who is the true and only creator of the sun, moon, earth, and
[all] other creatures"
d.
Like Louis Pasteur.
Today, we owe all the discoveries in the fields of microbiology and immunology
to his work. he said, "I see everywhere the inevitable expression of the
Infinite God in the world"
e.
Like 10,000
scientists today, who do not accept the theory of evolution, but have signed
their names to a public documents stating that all evidence points to a creator,
and the very fact that they can discover order in the universe proves there is a
designer who created it all!
6.
What if Hitler,
Einstein, Alexander the Great, Nero, etc had honoured God?
D.
Our
Strength
1.
Your health and
strength came FROM Him, so, give it back to Him as a gift because He is so
worthy
2.
Give Him your
strength – not your old age frailty
3.
Your might (Mark
12:30)
4.
Do everything you do
with all your energy (Eccl 9:10;
5.
Not half-heartedly
6.
But whole-heartily,
passionately – full throttle!
7.
We sing, “Give of
your best to the Master!”
E.
All
Honour
1.
We spend so much
time honouring sinful, mortal, rotting flesh
a.
The Grammys
b.
The Emmys
c.
The Olympics
d.
Elections
2.
People even honour
stupid things like Santa, and fairies!
3.
Heaven cries out,
“Honour Jesus!”
4.
To honour means to
treat with special value – above all others
a.
Never mocked,
demeaned, or without utmost respect
5.
Honour Jesus. Do
you? Does your life honour Jesus? Do people even know he is your Saviour and
Lord? People at work, at School? Anywhere? Even HERE?
a.
By putting Him at
the head of your home
b.
You honour Him by
your words?
c.
By your
tithe – honouring His command first, above all
other bills. Prov 3:9 “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the
firstfruits of all thine increase.”
d.
By your
time – especially on HIS Day, Sunday!
F.
All
Glory (Psalm 29:2)
1.
Give HIM all glory,
praise (115:1; 1Cor 15:10)
2.
Stay in Awe of Him!
Never let Him become smaller or less than he really is (Jude 1:25)
3.
Rejoice about HIM
being the HERO of your life – always swooping down and saving you from your
enemies (which is exactly what he does)
4.
Make Him look good
to others around you (Eph 3:20,21; 1Pet 2:9; Psalm 96:3)
a.
Eph 3:20,21 “Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
b.
1Pet 2:9 “But ye
are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;
that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvellous light”
c.
Psalm 96:3 “Declare
his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.”
5.
Glorify Him even
when you fail, or are weak (2Cor 12:9,10) “And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me.”
G.
A
Blessing (Psalm 103:1,2)
1.
To be blessed
is to be made happy!
a.
To bless someone is
to benefit someone
b.
We say, “That was a
reall blessing to me. That made my day. You made me happy”
2.
Well, be a blessing
to Jesus – make HIM happy.
3.
Make 2013 the year
of blessing Jesus!
4.
Is that actually
possible? Yes!
5.
Do things that make
HIM happy, Like:
a.
Obeying what He says
to do
1)
Not what only YOU
want to do, or feel like doing
2)
I “serve” Him –
which means, I live for His pleasure (Rev 4:11)
3)
If He wants me in
4)
If He wants me in
Azerbaijan, preaching, and winning souls and planting churches, I will go –
because I love Him and want to please Him!
5)
If He wants me in
ANYWHERE, struggling, disheartened and almost defeated – then I will be faithful
as long as I can do it for HIM!
6)
To please God means
to do HIS will!
7)
Are you doing HIS
will, or YOUR OWN?
b.
Forgiving people
anyway – ahead of time!
c.
Believing Him for
every problem – THAT pleases Him
1)
Oh the thrill GOD
gets when His people trust in HIM
2)
Oh the excitement in
heaven when GOD is looked to for answers and for rest and for peace, and for
victory
d.
Calling upon Him in
prayer instead of complaining (God HATES complaining)
e.
By being faithful –
as a good soldier, putting up with hard times (2Tim 2:3,4)
IV.
Challenge – Conclusion
A.
Jesus is Worthy of Our Best NOW
1.
Not WILL be worthy
2.
But IS, right now,
and forevermore worthy!
3.
Jesus IS worthy –
there will never be a time that He is not worthy of our very, very best!
B.
He is Worthy of
What? What will you GIVE to the Lord of lords this year, and for the rest of
your life?
1.
Our Power – I bet
most of you WON’T give that up… but you SHOULD!
a.
Give the Jesus
Lordship over your life this year – that means surrender authority
b.
Trust him with your
life
c.
Give whatever power
you are holding onto back to Jesus!
2.
Our Riches – HAH!
Not empty pockets… but your best! Your FIRST!
3.
Our Wisdom – If you
have ANY, give it back to Him as a gift
4.
Our Strength – you
have your health and strength FROM Him, give it back to Him as a gift because He
is so worthy!
5.
All Honour - Honour
Jesus! Do you? At work, at School? Anywhere? Even HERE?
6.
All Glory - all
glory, praise – what comes out of your mouth again?
7.
And All Blessing!
Seek to please Him!
C.
All of these are OUR
gifts to Him – they belong to HIM
D.
May they be OUR
gifts to Him throughout 2013…
E.
Because only HE is
oh so worthy!